Various applications of the Internet, and of the web, involve marketplaces that provide goods and/or services for sale. For instance, consumers may visit a merchant's website to view and/or purchase goods and services offered for sale by the merchant (and/or third party merchants). Some network-based marketplaces (e.g., Internet- or web-based marketplaces) include large electronic catalogues of items offered for sale. Distributors that operate such marketplaces may store inventory of items in one or more facilities (e.g., warehouses, distributions centers, etc.). In some cases, distributors may operate an entire fulfillment network that includes multiple facilities spread across a large geographical area. Due in part to the vastness of such fulfillment networks, even small inefficiencies can be compounded to significantly impact the network as a whole. Such inefficiencies can adversely impact a fulfillment network's ability to maintain requisite throughput, which among other things can ultimately impact a customer's marketplace experience in a negative manner. One source of inefficiencies in a fulfillment network may be inefficient use of labor. Labor allocation may be difficult to determine in fulfillment networks.
While the system and method for allocating labor to units processed in a materials handling facility is described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the system and method for allocating labor to units processed in a materials handling facility is not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the system and method for allocating labor to units processed in a materials handling facility to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the system and method for allocating labor to units processed in a materials handling facility as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words “include,” “including,” and “includes” mean including, but not limited to.